The Sheldon Museum of Art is offering a free reception and gallery talks from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Sept. 9. The event is part of the museum’s “Sculpting the Human Figure: Barbara Laging and Margarita Worth” exhibition.

The exhibit features the work of Laging and Worth, two Nebraska women artists who worked primarily in the 1950s and 1960s.

Laging sculpted in stone, concrete, and cast bronze, while Worth preferred hard woods. They shared a common interest in the human figure, primarily the head.

Laging concerned herself with human relationships and explored this theme extensively in her bronze sculptures. Worth, on the other hand, considered herself a formalist. Where Laging felt a kinship with 20th century figurative sculptors such as Henry Moore and Kenneth Armitage, Worth was interested in classical Egyptian and sub-Saharan African sculpture.

Laging taught interior design at the University of Nebraska, while Worth worked mostly from her home studio. Worth’s husband, Peter Worth, was a faculty member in UNL’s Department of Art and Art History.

The gallery talks begin at 5:30 p.m. and repeat at 6:15 p.m. Featured speakers and topics are:

• Sharon Kennedy, Sheldon director of education, will speak on the careers of Laging and Worth.

• Michael Ferris, a longtime woodworker, will discuss exotic woods and woodworking techniques.

• Mo Neal, associate professor of art, will talk about the lost wax process.

The exhibit is open through Oct. 19.

For more information, visit http://www.sheldonartmuseum.org.